from staff reports

Retired botanist Darryl Searcy has brought vast knowledge to a number of companies in Brewton, including D.W. McMillan Hospital, where he is grounds consultant.
His work brought him the honor of being named one of Southwest Alabama’s regional “Hospital Heroes” recently.
Seven area hospital employees were honored for their dedication to the health care field recently at a luncheon in Mobile hosted by the Southwest Regional Council of the Alabama Hospital Association.
The luncheon is one of seven regional awards presentations being held in November and December as part of the association’s ninth-annual statewide “Hospital Hero” award contest, which highlights health careers while recognizing the accomplishments and compassion of hospital employees. From local winners, up to 10 state Hospital Heroes will be selected and honored at a banquet in February in Birmingham.
“This contest is one of our Association’s most meaningful events because it recognizes some amazing people,” said J. Michael Horsley, FACHE, president of the Alabama Hospital Association. “It’s often said that working in a hospital is more than a job, that it’s a calling, and when you hear the stories of what these heroes do each day you realize how true that is. They really are a special breed.”
Searcy, grounds consultant for D. W. McMillan Memorial Hospital in Brewton since 2005, is 76 years old and has significant health problems, but that does not deter him from doing most of the physical labor of developing and maintaining the gardens and landscaping on the hospital grounds, as well as at several companies in Escambia County and for the City of Brewton. Mr. Searcy, a retired botanist, has a doctorate in systematic botany, and his work has taken him all over the world — often to conduct botanical research for pharmaceutical companies. Recently, Searcy made a trip to India to harvest plants in the Isola District for a pharmaceutical company researching new medications. Helping others is known to be Searcy’s main focus in life, and his two favorite mottoes are “dig and divide” and “share the love.”
As an example, Searcy takes cuttings of flowers to the Outpatient Department and gives them to oncology patients. Additionally, when one of the hospital’s nurse managers died, Searcy helped create a memorial garden in memory of deceased employees. While the bulk of his time is voluntary, he maintains a nearly full schedule, including giving lectures at nearby universities.
“Mr. Searcy is a mentor to young people whom he has inspired to share his love and care of the world around them and, in the process, to be better people,” a colleague said.
Hospital Hero honorees also included: Celeste Goss, RN team leader for intensive care, Mobile Infirmary Medical Center; James “Taylor” Morgan, chaplain, Mobile Infirmary; Sandra Nichols, certified nursing assistant, Providence Hospital, Mobile; Steve Goren, director cardiac rehab, Springhill Medical Center; Naja Hadad, medical technologist supervisor, University of South Alabama Children’s & Women’s Hospital; and Lynne Annette Godwin, USM Medical Center.